Best movies like Defying Gravity
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Defying Gravity? Share your familiarity to navigate others to tv shows and movies you've watched previously that might similarly absorb them. Aid in expanding the network of people mentioning videos to each other. We encourage your involvement!
Plot Summary:
Cassandra, a mute runaway girl, takes refuge in the cemetery in which her mother is laid to rest. She is watched over by Jorge, the cemetery caretaker, an illegal alien who is committed to the restoration of a classic '60 cadillac hearse. Shore is a dynamic, handsome, and brilliant young man who also happens to be homeless. After almost hitting Cassandra in his dilapidated VW bus, he becomes fascinated by the gothic cemetery waif and attempts to befriend her. A sequence of events results in Cass getting lost. Jorge and Shore flee the cemetery in a stolen hearse to find Cassandra before her abusive step-father does. All paths lead to Yermo - the site of a roadside diner and a feisty but compassionate transvestite waitress named Lola.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, independent film, campy
Best tv shows and movies like Defying Gravity (2008):
Similar in 80%
Squint Your Eyes (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of a spirited ten-year-old girl who has run away from her proudly affluent parents in town and finds grudging refuge with the slightly slovenly caretaker of an abandoned farm, an ex-teacher.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 962
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: Poland
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, sexual, sexy
Similar in 84%
Julian Po (1997)
Plot Summary:
Christian Slater is a stranger who comes to a small town. The local citizens think he's up to no good. After bothering him for a while, he blurts out in frustration, that he is there to kill himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: offbeat, psychological, touching, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 78%
The Good Life (2007)
Plot Summary:
A story about a mostly normal young man who makes the most out of fitting in when he obviously doesn't.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, semi serious, humorous, realistic, captivating, cult classic, whimsical
Similar in 82%
To Find a Man (1972)
Plot Summary:
A boarding-school girl (Pamela Sue Martin) comes home pregnant and asks the boy (Darren O'Connor) next door for help getting an abortion.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, sincere, touching, humorous, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 86%
The Best Thief in the World (2004)
Plot Summary:
Izzy, the youngest son of a troubled New York family, takes a shine to breaking into people's apartments as a way to get attention.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 544
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, realistic, independent film, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Couch Potatoes (2017)
Plot Summary:
Giorgio and Tito, father and son. A successful journalist and a lazy teenager apparently impossible to understand. Giorgio's dream is to take Tito to the Nasca Hill in Liguria, but Tito prefers to spend his entire day with his group of friends, eating, talking about nothing and playing video games. Until one day when he suddenly informs his father that he would join him in this trip. After a series of accidents and misunderstandings, at the end, somehow father and son will find the way to communicate … or at least they will try.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, humorous, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Motel (2005)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. Misunderstood by his family and blindly careening into puberty, Ernest befriends Sam Kim, a self-destructive yet charismatic Korean man who has checked in. Sam teaches the fatherless boy all the rites of manhood.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sincere, touching, realistic, independent film
Similar in 78%
Norman (2010)
Plot Summary:
A teenager pretends to be dying from cancer as a way to cope with the realities of his daily existence and his father's terminal illness.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, tragicomedy, semi serious, sincere, touching, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 80%
Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)
Plot Summary:
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, psychological, captivating, offbeat, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, whimsical
Similar in 78%
The Sale of Paradise (2012)
Plot Summary:
Many immigrants, when they arrived in Spain, thought they had found paradise, soon thwarted all their dreams of prosperity. Many of them then decided to return to their land, but not so simple. In a pension match various immigrants end up discovering that deportation is the only way to return to his country.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 76
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, surreal, light, offbeat
Similar in 88%
Funny Bunny (2015)
Plot Summary:
Gene spends his days canvassing about childhood obesity. One day he canvasses Titty, an emotionally-arrested 19-year-old who has successfully sued his own father to win back a large inheritance and gotten himself disowned in the process. Gene discovers that Titty has an ongoing online relationship with the beautiful but reclusive Ginger, who is an animal activist. Gene convinces Titty to make a pilgrimage to meet Ginger where the two men form a close bond despite both of them being drawn to the enigmatic Ginger, who is in need of rescue.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 204
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, light, feel good, mumblecore, slang, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 77%
Ping Pong Summer (2014)
Plot Summary:
In 1985 a summer vacation in Ocean City, Md., changes the life of a shy white teen who's obsessed with table tennis and hip-hop music.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, light, happy, touching, offbeat, semi serious, independent film, whimsical
Similar in 85%
Funeral Kings (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's always a good day for a funeral at St. Mark's Middle School. Andy and Charlie, two altar servers, don't just get to miss class anytime a parishioner kicks the bucket, they cut out early and play hooky as soon as the service is over. Eventually their irreverent personalities will put them in a situation that is too big for them to handle.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
True Adolescents (2009)
Plot Summary:
At 34, struggling Seattle musician Sam finds himself broke, jobless and losing touch with the person he wants to become. When his girlfriend kicks him out, he's forced to crash with his Aunt Sharon and is reluctantly enlisted to take her teen son, Oliver, and his friend Jake camping.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 776
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, mumblecore, indie film, talky, independent film
Similar in 89%
Mo (2007)
Plot Summary:
Every kid wants to be cool and fit in - life's a blast even when you're different. When Mo's reflection is revealed, he sees a body that doesn't quite resemble any of his peers. Here, he tells the tale of his youth, growing up on the south shore of Long Island, New York.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 222
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, semi serious, offbeat, humorous, realistic
Similar in 83%
As Cool as I Am (2013)
Plot Summary:
A smart teenage girl comes of age in a small town with her self-centered parents who had her when they were teenagers.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic, independent film, vintage
Similar in 85%
Bruno (2000)
Plot Summary:
The story of a unique young boy genius, Bruno, whose expression of his own individuality leads his family and community along an emotional journey.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, inspirational, motivational, independent film, flamboyance
Similar in 89%
Two-Bit Waltz (2014)
Plot Summary:
Suspension from school, the loss of a friend, a broken heart and lack of inspiration lead to Maude's downfall in this romp through teenage error. Your teenage years are never easy… but for Maude, things couldn't be worse. Within one week, she is suspended from school, stranded by her best friend, dumped by the boy she loved and inherits an enormous amount of money with the passing of her grandmother– only to be claimed under one condition: Maude must prove by age 18 that she knows exactly what to do with her life. But with her 18th birthday rapidly approaching, Maude must dive into a world of self-discovery or else lose the inheritance.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sentimental, humorous, realistic, witty, stylized, clever, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Best Things in the World (2010)
Plot Summary:
Everyday family life as perfectly normal madness. “As Melhores Coisas do Mundo“ follows a few days in the life of the 15-year-old Mano, who is fighting on two fronts: his parents have just got divorced and he is going through puberty. Mano tries to make his way through life, with its first sexual experiences, his depressed brother and his self-centered parents. It’s a humorous homage to the pitfalls of daily life and the diversity of life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, captivating, spectacular, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
I Don't Have Many Friends (2014)
Plot Summary:
Second year high school student Kodaka Hasegawa has transferred to his new school about a month ago, but he still hasn't made any friends. Kodaka Hasegawa was born from a Japanese father and a British mother. Because of his appearance, people think Kodaka Hasegawa is a troubled kid. One day, Kodaka Hasegawa sees classmate Yozora Mikazuki pleasantly talking to herself. Kodaka Hasegawa talks with her about how to make friends. To make friends, Yozora Mikazuki decides to form the Neighbor's Club and forces Kodaka to enroll in the club.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, captivating, entertaining, touching, offbeat, realistic, stylized, manga
Similar in 80%
Two Shots Fired (2014)
Plot Summary:
One early morning, at the beginning of a very hot summer, Mariano, a sixteen-year-old teenager, returns home, jumps into the pool and does some laps with a stopwatch. Then he gets out and mows the lawn, where he accidentally cuts the mower’s power cord when he runs over it. Set on fixing it, he goes to find tools but stumbles across a gun that he brings back to his room to shoot himself twice. But Mariano survives: one bullet just grazed his head and the other one, he believes, is stuck somewhere inside his body even if the doctors can’t find it anywhere, nor any exit wound for that matter. The only aftereffect he seems to have is a mysterious double-note when he plays music with his friends, which according to him is probably the result of the bullet still being inside him. But Mariano’s impulsive act will have other consequences on the people surrounding him….
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 669
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Chile, Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: semi serious, realistic, disturbing, offbeat, humorous
Similar in 85%
Papa Was Not a Rolling Stone (2014)
Plot Summary:
The 1980s. Stéphanie grows up in La Courneuve, on the outskirts of Paris, in a home where her mother is rarely there and her step-father is brutal. She quickly decides to escape her morose everyday life. Thanks to her grandmother's love, reading, her passion for dance, and for French pop-star Jean-Jacques Goldman, Stéphanie copes in this colorful neighborhood where friendship is primordial. One day, she knows that she'll leave this place to lead the life she's always dreamed of.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 159
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Debut (2000)
Plot Summary:
Filipino-American high school student Ben (Dante Mercado) works in a comic book shop to earn money to pay his way into Cal Arts. His father, a postman, is determined that his son--who has won a pre-med scholarship to UCLA--will become a doctor. The eighteenth birthday party of Ben's sister, Rose, sets off a comedic and touching series of events and family struggles that will in turn determine young Ben's future. This fresh independent production from Gene Cajayon presents a lighthearted and warm coming-of-age tale filtered through the eyes of an American subculture rarely seen on film.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching, realistic, witty, independent film
Similar in 76%
Kick'n Rush (2003)
Plot Summary:
The story revolves around Jakob, Bo and Mikkel - three friends who spend their days lusting over unattainable women and engaging in a variety of illegal activities (i.e. they'll rent a movie and then break into a house to watch it). After he's assigned to work with Mathilde on a school project, Jakob finds himself falling for the girl - despite the fact that Mikkel has been secretly lusting after her for years.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 502
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Sex and the USA (2008)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen year old Audrey Shaw is new to Bellweather, California and certain shell never fit in when she meets Krista Rich, the pretty, popular girl she aspires to be "or be with" shes just not sure. In a conservative California town, 14-year-old Audrey is new to Bellweather, California and certain shell never fit in when she meets Krista Rich, the pretty, popular girl she aspires to be "or be with" shes just not sure. Blending traditional filmmaking with social networking-inspired video clips, director Jan Wellmann paints a portrait of puberty and the hyperconnected lives of modern teens.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, sexual, mockumentary, sexy
Similar in 87%
You're My Hero (2003)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Ramon is on the verge of many adolescent discoveries -- and the confusion that goes along with them. Shy and awkward, he's moved from town to town throughout his childhood and believes that life is about winning and losing. But he soon learns it's all about survival. Like Ramon, Spain is in transition (President Francisco Franco is about to die); it's a time of social upheaval marked by change, illusion and struggle.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 382
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, semi serious, captivating, humorous
Similar in 79%
Chubby (2014)
Plot Summary:
Chubby is the nickname of Kevin, a 12 years old kid already weights 100 kilos (220.46 lb). If he keeps devours fries, pastries and ice cream everyday, he's gonna have heart attack sooner or later unless he decides to change his diet to turn around and stop eating junk food.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Belgium, Switzerland
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
The Flats (2002)
Plot Summary:
The Flats tells a cautionary tale of friendship and desire played out among a group of 20-somethings transitioning into adulthood. Main character Harper and his buddies make the most of their freedom prior to an impending court-ordered jail sentence. Things get even more serious when Harper and his best friend's girlfriend, Paige, begin a sobering relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 79%
White as Milk, Red as Blood (2013)
Plot Summary:
Leo falls in love with Beatrice, a slightly older high-school student who has leukemia.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, semi serious, psychological, humorous
Similar in 84%
American Chai (2001)
Plot Summary:
The film deals with an Indian American student who wanted to pursue his love of music over the more 'typical' academic endeavors of Indian Americans (e.g., medicine, engineering, law, and business).
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, witty, semi serious, realistic